Snakes and Frogs and Their Relatives [ 205 



Spectacular Deadly Snakes 



A visit to the snake house at a zoo gives you a first-hand 

 acquaintance with species you would never welcome as house 

 pets, though they are well thought of by zoo keepers. 



THE GOOD-NATURED BOA 



One of these deadly creatures is the boa constrictor a 

 big reptile of South America that reaches a length of eighteen 

 feet. It is quite hardy in captivity, and many specimens are good- 

 natured and easily fed with birds and small mammals. Though 

 most South American Indians dread this boa and believe it to be 

 poisonous, it is not. As a rule this boa seems anxious to keep 

 away from humans, but it will occasionally appear in a native 

 village, apparently attracted by the domestic fowl. 



Still greater in size than the boa constrictor is a water boa 

 known as the anaconda, native to the river valleys of nothern 



THE ANACONDA - GIANT AMONG SNAKES 



A huge boa fossil of about fifty million years ago, unearthed in Egypt, is supposed 

 to have been fifty feet long. Our modern anaconda (or water boa), the largest 

 of New World snakes, has a length of over twenty feet. It lives in South America 

 and though it spends much of its time in the water, it is also an expert tree climber. 

 The anaconda is not poisonous. It will seldom attack humans without provocation. 



